I was never really a punk. Oh, sure, I love Damaged and Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables, and I rocked more than a few heavily-safety pinned items of clothing in my day, but I always identified more with the metalhead aesthetic of personal and spiritual grandiosity than the punk concept of rebelling against the System and bringing down the Man. A philosophy of anarchy always seemed hypocritical to me; promoting chaos means that the law of the jungle is reinstated, which, honestly, means the Conan-looking motherfuckers win. Metal, meanwhile, was more about the internal conflicts of the body and soul, subjects I found much more relatable. Looking back on it, I thought about punk the way I’m sure a lot of punks think of metal—Awesome tunes, cool clothes, good people, but honestly, it’s all a bit silly, isn’t it?

Which is why it took me so long to get into Napalm Death. Sure, they were widely regarded as a death metal band by the time I, at the tender age of 16, discovered them, but everything I’d read or heard about them put severe emphasis on their political agenda, which to me reeked of proselytizing. Other bands I was into didn’t preach to me; Slayer, White Zombie, and Dimmu Borgir existed more as revels in cool subjects like vampires and serial murder. And so for many years, I shunned Birmingham’s third-greatest band, uninterested in hearing another group of dudes with a political mission scream at me (to be fair, I was 16, and assumed I had this Life shit figured out).

There are two reasons why my denial of Napalm Death was wrong. The first is, of course, the music, which is some of the better death metal and grindcore I’ve ever heard, straddling a line between groove-heavy melody and utter brutality in a way I hadn’t really experienced until I heard it. My first taste of Napalm Death was 1994’s Fear, Emptiness, Despair, considered one of the band’s death metal albums as opposed to their grind records, and it won me over instantly. Fear… wasn’t too simple or too experimental, too sappy or too inhuman. The music and lyrics touched on concepts I was experiencing personally, but did so with the aid of metaphor. And the riffs! To my ear, metal is all about the riff, and Fear… is loaded with grinding, surging, tumultuous guitar work that sounds like a drive-by bludgeoning with a sledgehammer. From then on, I was happy to grab whatever new Napalm disc I could get my hands on. It amazed me that you could put out a really interesting and entertaining death metal record with every song under four minutes, and that you didn’t have to sacrifice one side of the music for another.

. . .

Napalm Death – “Twist the Knife (Slowly)”

. . .

But the second and more important reason I was wrong to deny Napalm Death is their politics. Never mind that the band espouses ultra-vehement versions of my own political views—Napalm Death are always about the human issue behind a political agenda rather than the abstract concept or the statistics of it. There’s an emotional resonance there that a lot of political bands seem to forget—the understanding that human life lies at the bottom of these complicated issues. Too often political bands spew dates, numbers, and textbook cases at me in the hopes of winning me over with cold, hard fact, but I’m not that kind of guy. Hearing a body count seems starched and clinical to me. Paint me a picture, though, of a destroyed village or a beaten slave laborer, or read me an account of their struggle and pain, and I’m there, I’m listening, I’m feeling. Some might call that sensationalism, but what matters is its connection to my sense of self. Death metal is finally about the gross corporeal horror of the world, and Napalm Death’s politics are soaking in it.

Not to say there’s any struggle to find reasons why Napalm Death are cool. The band’s name and logo epitomize the genre’s atmosphere of bloody grandiosity, and their twisted sense of humor—”You Suffer” being, to me, the king of musical middle fingers—is straight-up endearing. They’ve been doing their thing non-stop since its inception without compromising their sound and while simultaneously evolving along the way, which is basically what every band dreams of doing. They almost single-handedly started grindcore, then went on to revitalize death metal, and now play an overdriven bastard child of the two, giving fans of each subgenre a portion of their career to become engrossed in. To top it all off, a Napalm Death show is amazing- their brand of grimy, chugging metal translating perfectly into the live arena (Barney Greenway’s flailing death-jig is also a plus). But these are all reasons why Napalm Death are cool, and don’t touch entirely, I believe, on why they’re important.

Extreme metal has always been about overkill . . . being fastest, hardest, loudest, biggest, meanest, truest. But for some bands, there is a comfortable seat within this extremity; for example, a band like Cannibal Corpse has found its place in the realm of epic gore. And that’s fine—the band knows what they do well, and do it well, and the album’s good, and we all headbang. Napalm Death, though, have no role, no seat at the table. Like the world of culture and politics the band comments on, they are a roiling sea of aggression, anguish, and desperation. There is never an understanding as to exactly what they’re going to do next, and there’s never an immediate indication of what a given song will be about; there is a freedom in Napalm Death to focus on any subject they like. On “When All Is Said And Done” off of 2006’s Smear Campaign, Greenway bellows the line “This life is a gift to be lived and loved,” and the line holds as much furor as any exaltation of Satan or Jeffrey Dahmer or Vlad the Impaler.

Napalm Death is a bastion of versatility in extremity. They consistently prove, album to album, that “more is more” can be achieved without ego or machismo or an unnecessary focus on cruelty, that the good guys, the artists, the humans, can make the most aggressive music in the world. Metal’s obsession with darkness is often shielded against detractors with the argument that its fans and creators are reacting to the heartbreaking grotesquery of the real world around them, and if that’s the case, then Napalm Death are the ultimate defenders of the faith. Rather than fall into crust punk’s often self-indulgent Fuck Everything ethos, they have emotionally bristled to each of man’s shortcomings in stride. Their genuine take on inhumanity keeps death metal legitimate, invigorated, and ready to fight the culture war, perpetually reminding us that the rage is real—if you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention.

31 Comments

Napalm Death are awesome! Thought so for the last 20 years. I’m geeky enough to own practically every album, ep, single, whatever they done on an array of formats (got 3 copies of from enslavement on vinyl alone) and love every single one. I’ll be honest and say they don’t hold the same thrall and wonder as they did for me as a teen but definitely one of the most consistent, entertaining, informative and brutal bands ever. Good work in saying so Mr Casserole. I’m sure more people feel exactly the same.

Napalm has been my favorite band for a long time. They hit the perfect notes of grindcore, punk, and death metal for me. And while I don’t love their last two albums as much as most ( to my ears Barney’s voice has started to strain and sound tired ), I still find time to spin the majority of their albums on a semi-regular basis.

Fear Emptiness Despair was my first exposure to them. I was staying up late one night watching Headbanger’s Ball when the video for ‘Plague Rages’ came on. I had already dipped my toe somewhat into death metal (was already listening to Chaos AD & Wolverine Blues by this point) but ‘Plague Rages’ dragged me all the way in — it was at once both riveting and terrifying, an incredible traumatic song that somehow managed to stay hooked in my ears. I bought the album next week.

My other favorite in Enemy Of The Music Business, an album which saw the band resume their throne as death-grind kings. Those are probably the two I listen to the most these days.

Birmingham’s third best band, eh – after Bolt Thrower and Sabbath, I’m guessing?

I’ve only got to know Napalm Death fairly recently, largely thanks to living with a Brummie boyfriend who worships them. But I do love them, now. As you say, they’ve perfected the art of evolving while maintaining a stable core; they’re ageless, but always relevant. And they really fucking hate politicians, especially the useless shower we have in power at the moment, which just endears them to me further.

@DoomRooster – they’re always amazing live (i’ve seen them three or four times now). I hope they live up to your expectations.

These guys have never ceased to amaze me. They have proven time and time again why they are my favorite band with their albums and live presence.

I remember being completely hung over the day they played at MDF ’09. Felt like I was one step from death the entire day. Till ND came on. I’ll be damned if they didn’t give me the energy to not only start head banging but full on get into the pit.

I honestly feel they are going to be an institution. This lineup will pass, but the band will continue on. Its happened several times now.

Justin Pintado was no slouch either. The difference between his guitar playing and Steer’s is the most noticeable aspect of ND’s transition from grindcore pioneers to deathgrind worldbeaters.

I think it’s weird that ND had a Mick Harris and a Mitch Harris in their lineup at the same time. Combined with the fact that everyone was no doubt hard of hearing from making such a racket, that must have created the occasional confusion. “No, goddammit, it was Mick who wanted the Kung Pao chicken.”

Even their “bad” albums (Diatribes, etc.) are amazing. Their output has been so varied, there’s something for everyone, and at the same time it always feels like the same band, which is already a paradox given the legendary lineup instability of the first records.

I always find it interesting when “metal people” find having Socio-political ethos and lyrical content sillier than grown men in spandex singing about wizards and dragons. Not to besmirch the latter, just a long held observation.

Sure, man. I guess my feeling is that the spandex and wizard crowd, if you talked to them about it, would say, “We actively support the wearing of spandex, the practice of wizardry, and the slaying of dragons.” Meanwhile, the heavily-political content of a lot of overtly political bands didn’t always match up with that they were doing in real life. A lot of political punks rarely put their ethos into practice, which made it seem like shtick. But I get what you’re saying.

Uh, how do you put “wizardry” and “the slaying of dragons” into practice? I think you have this backwards. At least politically-minded bands can engage in politically-motivated action if they so choose(especially if you consider disseminating political ideas through music to be a form of poltical action}. I get what you mean about the phoniness of a lot of bands’ political posturing, but c’mon.

Obviously, these are fantasy concepts, but they’re couched in fantasy the whole time, or at least in metaphor. I feel like a lot of political bands talk about revolution and governmental overthrow as these hardcore real-world concepts, but they’re often as fantastical as dragons and wizards. If a fantasy is going to be espoused, I like the one with monsters and magic better.

Carm

Posted July 13, 2012 at 12:45 PM

It used to be spandex, but now it’s leather vests paired with chunky white New Balances aka That Metal Show gear.

But I do like to balance out my love of grind with my love of more traditional sounding bands like Trouble and Angel Witch.

Carm

Posted July 13, 2012 at 12:50 PM

Speaking of Angel Witch, Bill Steer is now in Angel Witch! That latest Angel Witch record is the jam!

Astral Zombie

Posted July 13, 2012 at 8:22 PM

Oh, I agree…remember when Jello Biafra didn’t pay Neurosis their royalties?!?! I find value in both, but I think the fact that people still make this music with the corresponding message is probably more important than ever, regardless of whether or not they are lighting cop cars on fire or what have you, they are the catalyst for critical thought for a lot of people at an early age…sorcery on the other hand, not really practical against the despotic Governments of the World!

Great post! I’ve been a fan of Napalm Death for over 20 years now. Whether it be grind or death or something in-between, I love everything they have put out. And, I still love their lyrics as much as their music (can’t say the same about a lot of the other bands I started listening to 20 years ago.) Even though I’d usually put Scum at the top of the list, right now I am really digging Utopia Banished. Killer album all the way through.

“They consistently prove, album to album, that “more is more” can be achieved without ego or machismo or an unnecessary focus on cruelty, that the good guys, the artists, the humans, can make the most aggressive music in the world.”

Spot on! I was astounded when I listened to Utilitarian that a bunch of dudes who have been at it for that long sound so fresh, and that people who play such violent music can sound so full of heart, even heartbroken.

I don’t get how they do it but they’ve actually gotten better in the time that’s gone by. Horns. Nice post.